SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Harvest season in Northern California’s wine country is what dream weddings are made of: ripe grapevines and golden sunsets provide ceremonies an alluring backdrop that every year draws millions of visitors.
But harvest season now overlaps with fire season as wildfires, too, have become a yearly reality in the region.
In three of the past four years, major wildfires driven by a changing climate have devastated parts of the world-famous region, leaving little doubt that it’s vulnerable to smoke, flames and blackouts in the fall.
Last month, firefighters were still mopping up a blaze that took a disastrous toll in Napa Valley when the region was put on edge again by hot, dry and windy weather. Thousands were without power when Pacific Gas & Electric utility cut off service to prevent the winds from downing lines and sparking another inferno.
After seeing news images of burning wineries and people fleeing their homes, Ash Mintern decided to postpone a romantic getaway to wine country from Tampa, Florida to propose to his girlfriend.
“When I saw that people were evacuating out of the area, I didn’t want to take a risk,” Mintern said.
With visitors like Mintern second-guessing their plans to visit the region, locals dependent on the tourist economy are rethinking their marketing plans.
“If the fires make major news every year, it’s going to keep people from wanting to make long-term plans to vacation here,” said Bob McClenahan, a photographer who lost all his wedding gigs this year.
The coronavirus pandemic was already hurting Napa and Sonoma counties’ hospitality industry by halting wine tastings and large gatherings of any kind.
Closed wineries quickly pivoted to hosting virtual tastings and promoting wine clubs. The region started to slowly recover in late spring when restaurants and wineries reopened to outdoor drinking and dining. But in August, a series of lightning storms sparked wildfires west of Sonoma County and east of Napa, blanketing the region in thick smoke.
Then on Sept. 27, a small fire that began near the town of St. Helena was quickly pushed by winds across Napa Valley’s verdant hills, burning down to the valley floor and consuming hundreds of homes before making its way to Sonoma County.
The two fires followed devastating wildfires last year and in 2017.
Lost or damaged in the blaze were some of the area’s most iconic names: Meadowood, the Michelin-starred restaurant famous for its garden-to-table cuisine, was leveled except for its staircase and fireplaces. The flames devoured a farmhouse behind Castello di Amorosa, a winery that resembles a medieval castle, and destroyed more than 100,000 bottles of wines.
“I’ve been in the wine business for 48 years and this is by far the most catastrophic, devastating, most horrible year,” said Amorosa’s owner Dario Sattui.
Still, the majority of vineyards, winemaking facilities and tasting rooms that attract wine lovers to Northern California have escaped damage, but the perception of the area in flames threatens business across the region.
That has led state tourism officials to fund a study looking at how the threat of fires affects consumer perception and behavior. Some are refashioning the spring as their peak season.
